Announcement
by Kaliner
Summary: Set before the prophecy. Severus Snapes meets up with pregnant Lily in Diagon Alley.


Announcement

Severus Snape sat on a park bench in the middle of Diagon Alley, with a potions book propped open on his lap.

He absentmindedly skimmed through the pages, glancing up every now and then to see if anyone was watching him.

He stopped skimming when he came across a page that featured love potions. His attention immediately went to the book as he started reading the summary and ingredients of the potion.

"Rose thorns, Ashwinder eggs, peppermint, and Moonstone. It seems simple enough." He thought of Lily Evans, now Potter, as she had recently married Severus's longtime enemy, James Potter. He knew the love potion was extremely powerful and the drinker would fall in love with the creator. But… "No. I respect her too much to do such a thing." He shut the book with a slam and set it on the bench next to him.

He ran his fingers through his greasy, shoulder length, black hair and sighed.

"Why did she marry Potter?" Severus asked himself. "I know they started dating in seventh year, but marriage?" Severus had learned of the marriage from Professor Dumbledore himself, who felt the need to inform him.

"This way! We need to stock up on supplies for the arrival!" An oddly familiar voice yelled.

Severus turned his head to see Sirius Black, leading James and Lily through the familiar streets, with Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin tagging along. A younger girl with bright hair was following Remus.

"Sirius," Remus said, running up to his friend, "your cousin is following me, still."  
>"She seems to be fancying you, Remus," Sirius said, winking.<p>

"She's seven!"

"Aw, so what if you're thirteen years older than she is?"

"Sirius."

"Alright! Yo, Nymphadora!"  
>"Don't call me Nymphadora!" The girl shrieked, her hair turning a dark shed of red due to her anger.<p>

"Tonks," Sirius said, and the girl smiled approvingly, "go with your mum."  
>"But, I want to stay with Remus!" Tonks said, grabbing onto Remus's arm. She giggled<p>

"Sirius," Remus said desperately.

"Tonks, we want some time alone. We're older than you are, so go. Come on, please? I'll buy you an ice cream sundae later."  
>"Ooh, yummy!" Tonks laughed. She let go of Remus's arm and ran off into the opposite direction. "Sorry, Remus!" She yelled before she was out of sight.<p>

"Thank you."  
>"She's not going to give up on her crush, you know," Sirius told him. "Now, that that's out of the way, let's stock up!"<p>

Lily laughed and walked ahead of the gang, and Severus saw it. It wasn't too big, but it was visible nonetheless. There was baby bump. He nearly turned whiter than usual and fainted.  
>As they were walking past him, Severus grabbed the potions book and put in front of his face so they couldn't see him.<p>

They walked right past him and into a small shop, which sold baby supplies.

"This is so exciting!" Lily said, kissing James gently.

"I can't believe we're going to have a kid!"

Severus let the book drop when they all went inside.

He let out a heavy sigh, and found he was too depressed to even move. So, he just sat on the bench, twiddling with his thumbs, thinking of what could have been.

About an hour later, James, Lily, Remus, Sirius, and Peter emerged from the shop, Remus holding a ton of boxes filled with baby stuff. He was staggering as he walked.  
>"Why must I carry all this?" He asked, almost falling over, but regaining his composure.<p>

Peter took some of the boxes from Remus. "I'll carry this for you," he said.

"Thanks."

"Well, I'm starved!" James shouted. "Let's get a bite to eat."

"I'll be right there," Lily said, heading over to a trashcan.

"Aw, really?" Sirius said, disgusted as Lily vomited into a trashcan. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth. "That's sick."  
>"Excuse me!" She growled. "I'm going to sit down for a bit, okay? Go on without me."<p>

"Are you sure?" James asked, ready to help her if she needed. She nodded. "Alright. Come on, guys."

Remus, Sirius, and Peter followed James into the Three Broomsticks while Lily walked over to a bench, not paying any attention to who was sitting there.

She sat down with a heavy sighed.

"My feet are killing me," she said to herself.

"Hello," Severus said, making her gasp. "Sorry!"  
>"Sev?" Lily asked, completely taken aback. "What are you doing here?"<br>"Just sitting," he replied. "How have you… been?"  
>"Good, good."<br>"Congratulations," he said, with more emotion that he wished. "For the marriage, and the baby."  
>"Oh, thank you." Lily felt the awkward tension between the two of them; she stared down at the ground, finding it hard to look at Severus's face.<p>

"Do you know what it's going to be?" He asked.  
>"A boy," Lily replied, smiling slightly. "James can't wait. He wants to teach him Quidditch. I bet he will become a great Seeker, just like his father. We're going to name him Harry," she said, predicting Severus's next question.<p>

Severus glanced down at her stomach, a shudder passing through his spine. He could have been married to her; she could be carrying his child!

"Something wrong, Sev?" Lily asked, breaking him away from his thoughts. "You're spacing."

"I do that quite a lot. So, did you hear about the Dark Lord?"

"Yes. I think it's just awful. I hope he doesn't get too powerful."  
>Severus said nothing, recalling his ties with the Dark Lord and his disciples. He wanted to say something more to her, something meaningful. He hated talking about the Dark Lord and what he was up to. He wanted to tell her how he always felt about her, and that he was truly sorry for what he done.<p>

His throat was dry, and all he could muster was a little "ah" that went unnoticed by Lily.

Severus was unprepared when Lily's face scrunched up and she clutched her stomach in pain.

"What's going on?" He asked quickly.  
>"Contraction," she told him through clenched teeth. "Strange though, they're never this bad."<p>

"What do I do?"

"It'll go away in a second. Ah, it's gone, it's fine."  
>"Is it, really?" He asked nervously.<p>

"It's fine," she repeated, nodding her head and laughing at Severus's red face.

"Lily, are you ready to come in now?" James asked, stepping out of the doorway of The Three Broomsticks. "What are you doing?" He sprinted to her side and grabbed her hand, shooting a nasty glance at Severus, who was more than glad to return the gesture. "Are you alright, Lily? He didn't hurt you, did he?"  
>"No, I'm fine," Lily said, smiling at her husband.<p>

"Ah, what the hell he is doing here?" Sirius growled, running to the bench and pointing his wand at Severus. "Can't you leave us alone?"  
>"I happened to be here first, Black," Severus said, ready to pull out his wand as well.<p>

"No, stop it," Lily said, grabbing Sirius's sleeve. "Please."  
>Sirius looked into her green eyes and put his wand away. "I think you should leave, Snivellus." Severus flinched; he hadn't been called that for three years.<p>

"Let's go," James said, helping Lily up. "We're leaving!" He shouted to Remus who had just peeked out of the doorway to see what was happening. He was surprised at seeing Severus, but he didn't say anything. He merely nodded and retrieved Peter.

Lily waved goodbye to Severus, who watched her with that same longing that was present in his eyes when he was near her.

James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter left Diagon Alley, with no further glances at the pale faced, crooked nose wizard.

"Congratulations," Severus said quietly, walking the opposite direction, his hands behind his back.


End file.
